3rd Furtag of Newtime, Panapos, Yloxi
“Look, look, I’ll get you the money I swear!” The man known as ‘Lucky Harry’ backed up against the alley wall.
“You said that the last time, Harry.” The reply from the gnome in the darkness was quiet, but powerful.
“It’s just a temporary setback, I swear!” Harry gulped as one of the other gnomes twisted a small ring on his finger, causing a small arcane spark to flare up across his features.
“Look, look! No need to be unpleasant here!” Harry was pleading now. “100 platinum pieces, as promised, I’ll have it for you by next week!”
The flare grew brighter, and illuminated the faces of the gnomes in the alley. The leader of the trio wore a tailor-made jacket and trouser combination, and was smirking dangerously. The two other enforcers looked brutish - scars crossed their faces. One had on the ring from which the dim light was glowing, and the other a pair of knuckledusters. The woman with the knuckledusters grinned evilly at Harry’s pleas.
“I’m afraid, ‘Lucky’ Harry,” the leader of the trio formed the air quotes with his intonation, feeling no need to raise their hands. “That empty promises mean nothing to the Syndicate. Less, even, when your business plan is mere… gambling.” The leader twisted the last word as if it left a foul taste in their mouth.
Harry let out a deep sigh. The cold night air filled his lungs.
“May I say some final words?”
“I see no reason why not.” The gnome in charge seemed pleased with how civil this was going.
Harry bowed his head and closed his eyes. He uttered a quick chant, then opened his eyes, glowing with arcane power. He smiled at the now worried look of the gnomish enforcers, as his form turned into wisps of mist which quickly reformed into him a little ways down the alley.
“Sorry, gentlemen. Gotta run.”
The gnomish enforcers did recover from their shock quite quickly, it must be said. Not quite quickly enough, however.
Three bolts of eldritch energy sprung from Harry’s outstretched palm, blasting each of the gnomes with a bolt of arcane force. The leader and most well-dressed of the three looked appalled and affronted. He composed himself, and with a dismissive wave, spun on his heel with a cry of “Deal with it.”
The small gnomish woman with the knuckledusters was visibly angry. She charged forwards and swung for Harry, catching a nasty blow to the side of his jaw. Harry recoiled, spitting a curse along with the blood out of his mouth. The blood hit his assailant on the forehead, and formed a familiar rune atop her. The rune flared brightly and she was wreathed in flames. She let out a scream as the fire burned away at her flesh, rendering her little more than charred ash.
Apparently professional enough to disregard the death of his companion, the gnome with the glowing ring raised his hand and muttered a quick incantation. Three arcane bolts briefly lit up the alleyway before each finding their way into Harry’s body, striking with the force of well-aimed punches. Briefly winded, Harry sketched the symbol of his patron - the dark entity known as the Keeper - in the air, and eldritch energy sprung from his fingertips. One of the three beams struck wide, chipping some stone off of the wall of the alleyway. The other two, fortunately, found their mark in the gnomes small body and sent him skidding along the ground of the alley.
Taking that as his cue, ‘Lucky’ Harry began sprinting down the alleyway. He knew that wouldn’t be the last he saw of the Gnomish Business Syndicate, but as long as he kept up his debts to the Keeper, his debt to the Syndicate could wait.
Harry smiled, with a twinge of fear. One day, he knew, his debts would catch up with him. But for now, it was time to hit the casinos once more.
